As cult deaths top 100, another Kenyan pastor arrested over “mass killings”
Malindi, Kenya Reuters A Kenyan televangelist was arrested on Thursday after reports of the “mass killing of his followers”, the interior minister said, as authorities investigated scores of other deaths linked to a religious cult from the same region. As news of pastor Ezekiel Odero’s detention spread, officials said the death toll had now reached […]
Ukraine ask Pope’s help in getting children back from Russia
Rome, Italy AP Ukraine’s Prime Minister said he asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience Thursday to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, briefing reporters on his half-hour audience with the pontiff, said he also invited Francis to come to Ukraine. “I asked His Holiness to […]
Sudan’s factions say they agree to extend truce but fighting goes on
Khartoum, SudanReuters Sudan’s two warring factions said on Thursday they would prolong a ceasefire agreement by 72 hours, but violence again rocked the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur as the US said ceasefire violations were worrying. Hundreds have died and tens of thousands of people have fled for their lives in two […]
UN Security Council set to condemn Taliban crackdown on Afghan women
United Nations Reuters The UN Security Council is set to vote on Thursday to condemn a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and call upon the Taliban administration to “swiftly reverse” its crackdown on the rights of women and girls. The resolution to be voted on – drafted by the […]
Wartime surge of Ukrainian language brings boons for those who switch
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters On the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Vlada Belozorenko, a Kyiv theatre director and public speaking coach who grew up speaking Russian, decided that all of her business would now be carried out exclusively in the Ukrainian language. A native of the southern, mainly Russian-speaking city of Kherson, she now has about 110,000 […]
Table Talk: What King Charles III’s coronation quiche tells us about the history of British dining
RACHEL RICH, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the tradition of coronation-related food…
In the US, Georgia pastor Mike Stone to challenge SBC President Bart Barber this summer
United StatesRNS For only the second time in more than three decades, a Southern Baptist Convention president will face a challenge for reelection. Georgia pastor Mike Stone, who lost a hotly contested election in 2021, announced on Wednesday that he would accept a nomination for the presidency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Pastor Mike Stone. PICTURE: […]
New image reveals violent events near a supermassive black hole
Washington DC, US Reuters Expanding upon the historic first images of black holes, scientists on Wednesday unveiled the first picture showing the violent events unfolding around one of these ravenous cosmic behemoths, including the launching point of a colossal jet of high-energy particles shooting outward into space. The new image was obtained using 16 telescopes […]
In the US, UMC top court rules disaffiliating clergy don’t automatically lose credentials
United StatesRNS The United Methodist Judicial Council ruled on Tuesday that clergy will not automatically lose their credentials if their churches leave the denomination. The decision comes as the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States continues to splinter over the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members. According to the latest tally by United Methodist […]
“Moving on”: Jamaica cool on Charles’ coronation as it eyes break with monarchy
KATE CHAPPELL, of Reuters, reports from Kingston ahead of the coronation of King Charles III early next month…